Art Process

07/27/2017

Greetings and thank you for being here. This post is dedicated to recapping the Visual Journal Collective July 2017 meeting that happened at the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts.

Molly Anthony was our guest artist, and she presented on her passion for using found objects in her journals. She loves to dip them in acrylic paint and see where they take her imagination. Every object has a story behind it, and with a writing background, Molly enjoys sharing stories and art on her Instagram account, as well as her blog, The Found Art Walk.

A Little Philosophical Thinking

What's the key to life? Perhaps it's seeing with new eyes. Perhaps it's turning something old, into something new. Or maybe it's listening. Listening to our own inner wisdom and guidance. Listening to that inner call to express ourselves and create. It may also be about finding joy in the little things. Take action! Do something with a sense of play, and most certainly feelings of joy and being in the present moment will come about. And guess what's not in the present moment? Worries about the past and the future. Ahhhhhh. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

Molly's Journals

Molly brought several of her journals where she's made found object marks and beautiful collage pages.

This is what a full journal looks like! Isn't it divine?

I just love those track marks Molly made in her journal (see below).

TIP: Molly claims that you can find the best stuff in the Target parking lot.

If you are too shy to pick up your own found "trash to treasure" objects, Molly has curated special kits that she'll be selling on Etsy.

(Note: Everything has been sanitized before being placed in the Found Object Creativity Kit.)

A small tin is a great way to store and carry your found objects.

Who'd a thought dipping a ball in paint would make such a great dot mark for a journal page? Molly Anthony, that's who! You never know until you try. And by trying, we are really talking about playing around and observing results.

I am pretty sure that plastic hook came from the Target parking lot. I just love how Molly put those shapes together on her page! Molly encouraged us to play with repeating shapes and making patterns when printing the found objects.

Do you see the potential in the objects below? Which ones grab your attention the most?

Don't forget that found wrappers and miscellaneous papers can make excellent collage fodder, too.

Let's get started creating, shall we? First, here are some tips from Molly about using found objects in your art journal, visual journal, or sketchbook.

Step 1:

Collect your objects of interest.

Step 2:

Set up a paint palette. Have a baby wipe, rag, or paper towels on hand. Have your journal open and ready.

Step 3:

Start experimenting and playing with what each object can do!

As you can see from the participant photos above, a weeeee bit of fun was being had!

I loved using this stick (see above photo). It made so many great marks!

Look at the fabulous dots created from this thin Lego brick?!!

These tiny circles are created with a pencil top eraser. (It's purple, in the top of the photo.)

We had some time at the end of our meeting for people to share their journal pages. People shared pages created that evening, or any other time. We love looking at each other's journals. It's sooooo inspiring. It's such a gift to have a group with like minded folks.

What I love about all of these journal pages is the FREEDOM that they all express. Even if expressive marks or messy paint is not your normal way of creating, it sure does help to loosen you up for whatever is next on your agenda!

Special thanks to Molly Anthony for being our guest artist at our July 2017 meeting.

And thank you to all of the wonderful participants who allowed me to take photos of their journals! You are such an inspiration. I am grateful to you for showing up and trying something new! (Note: If you'd like me to credit your work with your name, and a link to your site, I am happy to do so. Leave your info in the comments below).

07/03/2017

If you know me, you know that I am a HUGE fan of 21 Secrets online art journaling workshops. I believe I own every single edition.

So, I wanted to let you know about this awesome FLASHBACK SALE happening now through Wednesday, July 5th.

SAVE $21 ON TOOLS & TECHNIQUES and 21 SECRETS COLOR, COLOR, COLOR. My workshop in 21 Secrets Color, Color, Color is all about creating artful patterns with various media. It was a big hit upon release, so I hope you'll grab your copy today and SAVE $21. In case you aren't familiar, you get immediate access to a wonderful downloadable PDF that is yours to keep forever! Within the PDF are the links to videos and a wealth of additional inspiration around art journaling, mixed media supplies, etc. ENJOY! IT'S AWESOME!! Just enter coupon code: "FLASHBACK" to save $21!

06/27/2017

Sometimes you just want to have a little artsy paper book wherever you go. It’s great to have to jot down notes, ideas, and inspirations. This one I am about to show you would also be great for collecting collage and ephemera of the day (like fruit stickers, receipts, insides of bill envelopes, etc.).

06/05/2017

I would like to be more consistent with blogging again, so here's another post for you!

First of all, yesterday was gorgeous weather. We spent most of the day outside. I have a thing about trees, so I looked up and snapped a picture.

I have been doing more art journaling lately. I guess I've sort of been obsessing over it, actually. Does that ever happen to you? The NEW Get Messy Art Journaling Community is starting the SEASON OF COLOUR-June to July 2017. I am participating there, so hopefully, I'll be posting more pages here.

I just love the edges of journals, don't you?

Color is always on my mind.

I got some new pastels from Wet Paint this weekend.

I made some pages in my journal this morning using Amsterdam Acrylic paint and Tombow Dual Brush Pen markers.

This page spread really has me swooning of the colors!

I also am working on the Index-Card-A-Day art challenge brought to us by www.DaisyYellowArt.com

Here are two of my #dyicad2017 cards done today:

And

It's not too late to join the free DaisyYellow Index-Card-A-Day art challenge.

04/19/2017

Hello and Good Day to you! Thank you so much for visiting or opening this post via email. I am thrilled to share my notes from the most recent Visual Journal Collective meeting at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Our April meeting topic was about favorite tools or supplies to use with/in your journal. Everyone shared the most amazing tips, and the journals are oh so inspiring! I have a bunch of photos from our evening, so you may want to pour a cup of tea and settle in for some fun!

Before the Meeting

I often like to hang out at Open Book prior to the Visual Journal Collective meeting. I absolutely love and feel grateful to have such a wonderful place in the Twin Cities that supports artists and writers. This pre-meeting time gives me a chance to unwind. I took my journal to the outdoor balcony and made this:

It's a bit of collage, finger painting, and stamping. These are some of my favorite things to experiment with in my art journal. What do you love to do in your journal? Leave a comment below or hit reply for email subscribers. I would love to hear your ideas!

April 2017 Visual Journal Collective Meeting

We started out by introducing ourselves. Some people have been coming for a long time (when Roz Stendahl facilitated, then Suzanne Hughes), and some people are fairly new. We want everyone to feel seen and welcome at our monthly meetings. By the way, our meetings are free and open to any adults interested in visual journaling, keeping a sketchbook, or art journaling. For more information, there is a button on the right-hand side bar at OrangeSpiralArts.com

Here are a few pics of all the tables and the wonderful people at them:

After introductions, I handed out a little gift to all of the participants. Then I shared about one of my favorite tools-the plastic card!

I may have been a little enthusiastic as I shared about my favorite tool, but I knew I was in good company. : )

Here are more favorite tools and supplies shared by Visual Journal Collective April meeting attendees:

Marsha talked about her favorite stylus for scoring paper, especially if you have to score against the grain. See her fabulous book below.

Molly talked about several really fun and interesting things. First up is the General's Water Soluble Graphite Pencil.

Next, many of us could relate to Molly's excitement over reused "trash" or recyclables turned into an art tool. Two of Molly's recent repurposed favorites are a plastic spoon and a rubber ball (pictured).

Another "trash to treasure" collector is Kari. We were all so enamored by Kari's thick journal filled with writing, torn pages, and glued in objects.

Kari's favorite tool is a heavy duty glue that does NOT stink, called Weldbond.

She did note that Weldbond does not work great with a rusty nail over a piece of plastic, just fyi.

Jean has a tin of tiny pieces that she has recently discovered are great for using with a fine-tipped Pentel Aquash Water Brush (sold at Wet Paint) as a way to add to her sketches of Japanese toys. A note about the Pentel Aquash Water Brush is that it is does not roll away, due to its unique shape.

Jean also shared her drawing explorations with the Non-photo blue pencil, recommended by writer, artist and "accidental professor", Lynda Barry.

In case you want to learn more about Lynda Barry and her being an "accidental professor", I highly recommend her book, Syllabus: Notes from An Accidental Professor. In this book, she talks how and why to use the Non-Photo blue pencil.

Chris talked about shopping at Ax-Man and discovering some great tools. Please note that the inventory is constantly changing at Ax-Man, and the tools Chris found are no longer there. You can still keep your eyes peeled for similar items, or these items at other locations.

One item Chris likes is this marker by Milwaukee tools. It's called an Inkzall permanent marker, often used on job sites.

Chris also talked about a silicone mat that is convenient for keeping pages clean, for spray ink messes, and painting messes, as it wipes off easily.

Kim talked about her favorite Tombow Mono Permanent Adhesive Tape Runner to use for collage.

There's the tape runner itself:

And then the refills:

Before Kim knew that visual journaling or art journaling was a thing, she was making collages in an old book.

Theresa shared her new favorite carrying case. She loves the clear window so that she can easily see what's inside the pouch.

Theresa also shared how she loves to repurpose small tins to carry her supplies.

Lynn shared her favorite paper punches that you can use anywhere on the page. They are by Martha Stewart and are called All Over the Page paper punches.

I didn't get a good picture of Lynn's paper punched pages, but here is one of Lynn's inspiring journal pages! You can see the paper punches at the bottom left of the image.

Journal Sharing Time

After people shared their favorite tools and supplies, we had some time to share our journals. This is one of my favorite parts of being part of the Visual Journal Collective. Everyone has such a unique way of creating, and it is really, really inspiring to see other people's journals. I shared some images already, but will continue to share the remaining photos I took of people's journals. I hope you love this sneak peek!

My apologies in advance for the photo blur. Pages were flipping fast, and I am a little rusty with the camera I was using.

03/21/2017

Last night was the monthly meeting for the Visual Journal Collective at MCBA (Minnesota Center for Book Arts). TJ Goerlitz of Studio Mailbox led the meeting with a really fun Speed Round Robin journaling exercise.

I took several photos of the journals as they came my way, as well as the completed journal spreads at the end of our meeting. Grab a cup of something good and enjoy!

Pictured below is how my journal looked when I got it back.

I added a few finishing touches to tie things together and make it more my own. Again, I only had five minutes, so that wasn't a lot of time. I loved the phrase "Be Artful". I added orange around that to make it stand out more.

I know I didn't get a picture of each journal, and I apologize. Things were moving pretty fast!

May you feel inspired to set a timer for 5 minutes, grab a few art supplies and let loose in your journal!

PS At the end of the speed journaling session, I noticed this gigantic stamp at TJ's spot. I had to get a picture to show you all. It's soooooo awesome!

Thank you for being here!

Have a wonderful day, and be sure to add a little creativity into your life, even if only for five minutes. It truly helps your whole system-mind, body, spirit, and soul!

03/08/2017

On International Women's Day, I feel it's worth mentioning the relationship one has with one's back. How does your back feel today? What do you carry there, both seen and unseen? What is one action you can take to improve your back's health?

A FREE Monthly Meeting for Visual and Art Journal Keepers in the Twin Cities. Click button above for more information.

Astrology and Art-2017-A Year Long Program with Hali Karla

You and Your Creativity Matter

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